Category: Apple

Apple hardware, software, website, technology

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Apple

RealNetworks files can play on an iPod

This is going to make some shockwaves this week. Apple shot them down not to long ago, now they are working on the iPod regardless.

Personally I hope Apple embraces it. I think it would remove a major barrier some potential iPod customers face. If Apple locked in a deal with Real, it could become the premier hardware provider for two popular music services. Customers of either provider will still want an iPod.

Together, they are stronger than separate against Microsoft.

Just like Mozilla is a lot stronger with Safari, and Opera working together, than separate.

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Apple

iPod coming Tuesday

iPodThat’s right. There’s a new iPod coming most likely on Tuesday. And we know about it thanks to the boneheads at Newsweek screwing up and printing the story a little to early. Anyway there are some new things:

  • A ‘clickwheel’ combines the buttons and the wheel, to make the interface even more compact and streamlined. As you can see in the picture.
  • “more efficient menu’s”
  • “Multiple on-the-go playlists”, ability to delete songs from mixes.
  • Audiobooks can be listened to at normal, slower or 25% faster without ‘sounding like a munchkin’
  • 50% boost in battery life
  • Lower price: $399 for 40GB, $299 for 20 GB. No 15GB.

Score one for Apple. I’m sure Jobs is pleased with the results, he’s got another winner in line.

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Apple

Apple and the Internet

Anyone still not reading David Hyatt’s Blog should start doing so ASAP. If you read this blog, and find anything relevant, you will most definitely find his relevant. He’s a browser guru with his hand in many things. A definite site to bookmark. A few comments on this whole Safari/Dashboard thing…

Personally, I wish it were done in XUL, and XUL were fully implemented on Mac OS X via Web Kit. Would have been really neat. Personally I find XUL based interfaces to feel quite natural at this point. Even Mac OS X’s Firefox is feeling good. With Apple’s concentration it would have been great. But they did go with the second best (and still good) option of HTML, with lots of standards support. And that’s still a good solution, though not my personal favorite.

I’d also like to make note of a good quote here:

We have a phrase we like to use here on the Safari team, and that’s “real-world standards compliance.” What that means is that where possible we attempt to be fully compatible with the W3C standards, but we also want to support the real-world standards, i.e., extensions that for better or worse have become de facto standards. If you really do believe we should not have implemented contenteditable, then you are simply out of touch with reality.

Hyatt does say something that makes me feel really comfortable with Apple’s approach on standards:

finally we have submitted all of our extensions to the WHAT-WG for review. The slider in particular is already in the Web Forms draft. It is our hope that these HTML extensions will ultimately be standardized by a working group, but I wanted to emphasize that we are working with other browser vendors such as Opera and Mozilla to ensure that these extensions are implementable in those browsers and that these extensions can be standardized. We are not simply off “doing our own thing.”

This I’d really like to see happen. I’d ideally like to see these things work on multiple browsers, just like the new plugin system coming around. Perhaps Mozilla can be setup to allow these new Widgets to work? Would be nice to see Apple, Mozilla team up.

Lastly, regarding namespace…

Webkit is looking to use:

http://www.apple.com/2004/xhtml-extended/

IBM adapts HTML and uses:

http://www.ibm.com/data/dtd/v11/ibmxhtml1-transitional.dtd

I kind of perfer the /dtd/ and have a documented DTD available, so my ideal solution would be:

http://www.apple.com/dtd/1.0/xhtml-extended.dtd/

holding the format DTD/version/item.

Just my $0.02.

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Apple

Oracle 9i and Jaguar

Anyone successfully install Oracle 9i Database Release 2 on Mac OS X 10.2.8 Jaguar?

Tried today at work with no success

I’m looking at:
http://otn.oracle.com/pub/articles/rohrer_macosx.html

All goes good until you run that script (createDb). Runs in .0001 sec with no output.

Apparantly the script craps out at:

cat < <__EOF__ >${WORK_DIR}/init${ORACLE_SID}.ora

Source for script

Yes, the variable ORACLE_SID and is set correctly. I even used echo to make sure it is.

Any ideas?

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Apple

Apple is to damn sexy

Yes, I know, I’m a Mac nut. My favorite OS is Mac OS X, I dream of the G5 at night. The dual processor G5 is hot (in more ways than one)…

But Apple just made my day. The AirPort Express is just what I’ve been wanting.

I could see a few uses for me:

  1. Hook laptop to stereo
  2. Wireless access in the dorm
  3. Extend wireless network when @ home where it gets weak

The question is if I’ll upgrade my laptop to 802.11g (only if I can do it integrated via an IBM upgrade of the mini-pci card). That would make it super sexy. Perhaps that will be part II, since I’m not filthy rich.

And if I should get cables. Apple has that $39 kit which sounds pretty handy, though I might be able to do better.

Way to cool. Just way to cool. I’m thinking it fits me wants and needs perfectly.

Anyone know if there will be a way to pipe all audio (not just iTunes) over the Airport Express? Would be nice to do more than just music (games for example).

Now I guess it’s pretty much written in stone that a iWiFi enabled Pod is coming soon. I can’t see Apple missing out on that.

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Apple

Some people are more intelligent after life

And here’s a great example of that theory. Yea right. Voluntary Collective Licensing VCL is about as legitimate as the “Universal language” many Linguist experts have been working towards for generations. It’s a system that will never work because it’s fundamentally flawed. What makes it so moronic is that people know it’s flawed, and they market it as perfect. So they blame Apple, a who recently entered this disaster as a failure. Yet having that much penetration in such a large market, and against all odds is rather substantial. Especially considering iTunes was Mac only for quite some time. And it’s competing against something that has no charge.

This is hysterical:

The vast majority of file sharers are willing to pay a reasonable fee for the freedom to download whatever they like, using whatever software suits them. In addition to those who would opt to take a license if given the opportunity, many more will likely have their license fees paid by intermediaries, like ISPs, universities, and software vendors.

Yea, come on guys. I’m positive even the author doesn’t believe that one.

A much better idea would be to create one open sourced DRM based network that is legalized.

Continue reading “Some people are more intelligent after life”
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Apple

New G4 upgrade cards

Sonnet Technologies has announced new upgrades for the G3’s!

The new Encore/ZIF G4 800 MHz and 1.0 GHz models are shipping now:
Encore/ZIF G4 800 MHz-1M EG4-800-1M $349.95
Encore/ZIF G4 1.0 GHz-1M EG4-1000-1M-U $499.95

NOTE: Encore/ZIF 1.0 GHz models with the part number EG4-1000-1M (without -U) are compatible only with Beige G3 models, and should not be purchased
for use in a Blue & White or G4 PCI Graphics.

The Encore/ZIF G4 700 will be available at a new lower price while
supplies last, and is compatible only with Apple Beige G3 models:
Encore/ZIF G4 700MHz-1M EG4-700-1M $299.95
(price drop from $349.95)

Sonnet’s Entry-level Encore/ZIF G4s

Sonnet continues to offer its entry-level of award-winning Encore/ZIF

G4 model, which is compatible with all Beige G3s, Blue & White G3
Towers, and PCI Graphics G4 Towers. The MSRPs on this model is:
Encore/ZIF G4 500 EG4-500-1M $199.95

I wish I could get one of those. I got a Beige G3 Fileserver, itching for more CPU, and a B&W desktop that could use one as well. Even a G4/500 would be quite an enhancement to the Beige G3. Quite expensive though.

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Apple

Amazing Car

Do you like cool cases for computers? How about a Car as a case?

Check this out

Very sweet. Would love if they open sourced that software they developed. Perhaps MPL?

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Apple

Tech Pr0n

If you haven’t checked out the Apple video of Virginia Tech’s “Big Mac“, you should do so NOW!

The datacenter pics made me salivate. Yummy. I wouldn’t mind having just 1. Forget about 1,100!

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Apple

Interesting show

Interesting show. Not sure I like the iPod Mini’s to much. Seem to childish, yet still pricey. You can get so much more for an extra $50. If your spending that much already. I just can’t see how someone can justify not getting an iPod, and end up with an iPod Mini. Colors are a bit childish looking IMHO.

The Xserve G5 is to die for, though don’t expect this blog to be hosted on one, anytime soon. That price is also to die for (literally).

The Xgrid technology seems really great. I’m sure that will help push Xserve sales.

There will soon be over 10,000,000 Mac OS X Users… We will be in the pool, in the clubhouse, were taking over!